Example of sudden weather changes

tedwca

tedwca

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I took these on a trip from Sacramento, CA to Reno, NV a trip of about 100 miles. The elevation goes from around sea level to 7000+ feet. It was about 75 and sunny when I left, about 60 miles in I hit a snowstorm. Once I cleared the summit it was sunny and 50 degrees.

Just thought I'd post them here as a reminder of how fast weather can change with distance AND elevation.

http://web.mac.com/tedwilson/iWeb/HI/Journey to HI.html

The last picture is on my way back to Sac. from Reno.
 
Tedwca:

These are an awesome example of orographic lifting from inside the phenomenon.

As you ascended, the air cooled to the dew point where clouds began to form.

You continued to ascend, and the clouds produced snow (humidity + cold). A goodly amount of snow.

As you ascended further, the air began to dry from the loss of humidity due to snow... and consequently you hit stable, dry air... meaning no clouds.

Meaning the air around you cleared into sunlight.

And indeed the air began to warm slightly from the sunlight. And created an inversion layer right about where you were.

This, I thought, was an educational sequence of photos--I appreciated you linking to them.
 
Ted,

Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I lived in Sacramento from around 83 or 84 until April of 99. The folks have property near Greyeagle and Portola and have gone from there to Reno. Nice scenery.

My only problem on the drive was being the driver and not being able to enjoy the scenery as much as I would have liked.
 
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